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Sarkozy sues former police intelligence chief

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has filed a suit against a former head of intelligence services after details about his private life appeared in a news magazine, his lawyer said.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy filed suit Thursday against a former head of police intelligence after allegations about his private life appeared in a news magazine, his lawyer said.

Excerpts of the private notebooks of Yves Bertrand, who was head of the General Intelligence (RG) service, were published this month in Le Point in a report dubbed "a journey under the skirts of the Republic".

The notebooks cover the period from 1998 to 2003 when Sarkozy was interior minister, and include allegations about the private lives of several leading politicians.

Sarkozy is linked to the wife of a member of parliament now serving as a government minister, according to Le Point.

Le Point's report said the diaries include potentially explosive claims about adultery, wife-swapping, drug abuse and north African sex tourism allegedly indulged in by senior French political figures.